LEADERSHIP, SERVICE AND ADVOCACY Report of the 2018 Nominating Committee Candidate Profiles and Rules of Procedure 54th Annual Convention March 15-16, 2018 Delta Winnipeg 350 St. Mary Ave. www.mbschoolboards.ca
Report of the 2018 Nominating Committee Candidates Vice-President (6000 or more students) (1 to be elected) Sandy Nemeth, Louis Riel Directors Region 1 (1 to be elected) Kelli Riehl, Swan Valley Region 3 (1 to be elected) Lena Kublick, Lord Selkirk Region 5 (1 to be elected) Jerry Sodomlak, River East Transcona Kathleen McMillan, Pembina Trails The information that follows was provided by candidates for Provincial Executive office. The final call for nominations will be on the morning of March 15, 2018, at the Convention call to order.
Vice-President (6000 or more students) Sandy Nemeth Louis Riel My overall goal for MSBA is that it exceeds the expectations of member boards. The year before us will require leadership, service, and advocacy the likes of which we have never seen. I truly believe that while your association has a key role in ensuring democratically elected boards continue to fully and autonomously govern K-12 education, it is at the local level where the biggest gains can, and will, be made. The onus is on school boards to engage with, and educate, their public in the months leading up to the October election, and beyond. The onus is on the executive and staff of MSBA to support these efforts. To be successful in this, MSBA must prioritize and focus its efforts and spend its dollars both responsibly, and with clear and measurable outcomes in mind. My time on the provincial executive has only reinforced one of my long-held beliefs, which is that school boards matter. It is a position I will continue to defend at every opportunity. Region 1 Director Kelli Riehl Swan Valley Kelli Riehl graduated from the University of Saskatchewan in 1999 with a Bachelor of Education degree, majoring in Music with a double minor in Biology and Chemistry, as well as a Bachelor of Music in Music Education. She began her teaching career in Saskatchewan, and after several years, found herself working for the Swan Valley School Division, where she taught Band and basic French in Benito, Manitoba. Kelli met her husband there and started a family. Feeling it was in the best interests of her children, Kelli made the difficult decision to step away from the career she loved to be a stay at home Mom. In addition to being a busy Mom to three beautiful children (ages 9, 12, and 14), she has been the Office Manager of their family s Logging and Lumber Company for the last sixteen years. Kelli has always maintained her strong passion for education. Kelli was President of the Swan River Chapter of Canadian Parents for French for several years. In 2014, she was elected as a trustee with the Swan Valley School Division. While in her first term, she has been Vice-Chair and is currently serving her second year as Chair. She is also a member of MSBA s Aboriginal and Indigenous Education Action Planning Committee. As a result of having been involved in education in many different capacities, Kelli offers a unique perspective on the issues facing our schools. From her post-secondary education, her experience as a teacher, a mother with three children in a French immersion program, president of a parent council, a trustee, chairwoman of a school board and a MSBA committee member, Kelli has a solid understanding of the importance of MSBA Executive members being available to reach out to those they serve, as well as being able to work together to govern efficiently and effectively. She has been very supportive of partnerships between school divisions and post-secondary institutions which have led to an increase in the variety of programming that can be offered. She understands the importance of fostering relationships with municipalities to gain their support for school division initiatives. She has enjoyed her role as Region 1 Director over the last year and looks forward to continuing in the role. Kelli sees that in today s climate, all school divisions, big and small, are facing challenges. She believes that these challenges can become opportunities. The keys to future success are communication and collaboration, because she knows that together, we can give the children of Manitoba the education they so deserve.
Region 3 Director Lena Kublick Lord Selkirk My husband, Dave, and I live in Lockport and have three children. In my day job, I am a Pediatric Occupational Therapist at the SSCY (Special Services for Children and Youth) Centre in Winnipeg. I work with infants and preschoolers. A large part of what I do is help these children prepare for their entry to school. I have a passion for improving the lives of children and their families, and the combination of my career and position as trustee complement each other. I believe that education is dynamic and that in order to be relevant, we need to continually seek to do better. I am so very proud of the work being done in our division to that end! In my 12 years as trustee with the Lord Selkirk School Division, I have participated on all our various committees, and for the last two years, I have had the privilege of serving as chair of our Board. I am a member of the Aboriginal and Indigenous Education Action Planning Committee with MSBA and have served as Region 3 Director for this past year. I believe that there is strength in diversity, and that critical thinking and collaboration are fundamental in any organization. I believe that knowledge is power and that we can effect enormous societal changes through education. We have a moral and ethical obligation to provide the students in our schools with not just the academic foundation that they will need, but also the tolerance, empathy and integrity to contribute to society. Now, more than ever, discernment, dialogue, active listening and an unwavering commitment to the students of Manitoba are needed. In the face of fiscal challenges, and the upcoming school board election, it is critical that we are articulate in communicating the vital role we play in upholding public education in Manitoba.
Region 5 Director Jerry Sodomlak River East Transcona The African proverb that says it takes a whole village to raise a child is a philosophy I firmly believe in, rooted in part from my 32 years working in schools as a teacher and principal. To create student success and support children and their families, it takes the active engagement and co-ordinated efforts of schools, the division and community stakeholders, such as health, family services and justice. Being a school trustee requires looking at things through a slightly different lens. My role is balancing fiscal responsibility along with the community s needs and expectations, while at the same time making sure the tools and resources are there to teach all children in a safe, inclusive and stimulating learning environment. The greatest feeling I get as a trustee is when I see students succeeding in any and every way physically, emotionally, socially and academically. I know our students success results from the collaborative efforts of our divisional staff and community members working together with pride in their role for students, our leaders of tomorrow. We are now in for some challenging times as educational reform is front and center. We will need a committed, collective voice to ensure the education of our children continues to be viewed as a cornerstone of our future and to stress the importance of our local school boards to get there. Together, we can produce far better results than we can individually. Aristotle said that, The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. I am committed to this end: open to dialogue with member boards, ensuring their voice is included while advocating for the important work all school boards do, in the interest of student success. As I am nearing the end of my first term as a school trustee, I truly appreciate the immense learning that I have garnered from my colleagues on the RETSD board as well as around the province and country at MSBA and CSBA events. Over the past few years I have sat on the Program, Policy and Personnel Committee, and chaired both the Finance, Facilities and Transportation Committee and the Lunch Program Review Committee. The experience from both my time as an educator and throughout my last three years as a trustee have given me the experience I believe is needed to take the next step to become a Region 5 Director. I would be honoured to represent Region 5 as a Director on the Manitoba School Board Association, to continue the work of those before me with colleagues from across the province to enhance and strengthen the public education system.
Region 5 Director Kathleen McMillan Pembina Trails Who I am... Born and raised in Winnipeg, I graduated from the University of Manitoba, Faculty of Human Ecology (Majoring in Family Economics and Management), and hold a certificate in French Language Studies from Laval University in Quebec City. After a 30 year career, I retired from Provincial Public Service, having held the position of Director, Finance and Administration, Healthy Child Manitoba. An advocate for children and youth, my passion and enthusiasm for child-centred public policy culminated in a 14 year career with Healthy Child Manitoba. I am honored to have contributed in the development of an innovative and nationally recognized strategy of Provincial programs and services for Manitoba s children and youth. In 2014, shortly after retiring, I was elected to the Pembina Trails School Division Board of Trustees. In March 2016 I accepted a one-year term as a Region 5 Director on the Manitoba School Boards Association Executive; I was re-affirmed into this position for an additional one-year term in March 2017. Through continued involvement in various arts, cultural and community organizations, in 2016 I accepted a Protocol Position at the Legislative Building: I am presently appointed to an Administrative Liaison position within the Office of the Military Envoy for the Province of Manitoba. Of all roles, my most rewarding is that of being a single mother to my birth-daughter Bailey, and two adopted foreign students: Shiya and Taylor. Our home is a beehive of activity; with three University students, each in a different faculty, our daily conversations cover a broad range of social, cultural and academic topics. My Experience... Over the past 35 years of professional employment, I have experienced and benefited from a number of diverse fields and positions. Each has afforded me opportunities to expand and hone my skills, expertise and knowledge. Below is a brief employment overview: starting from 2018 and working back to 1982. Assistant to the Special Envoy for Military Affairs (Government of Manitoba) Director of Finance and Administration (Government of Manitoba) Director of Arts and Cultural Industries (Government of Manitoba) Provincial Adjudicator (Government of Ontario) Consumer and Corporate Affairs Officer (Government of the Northwest Territories) Family Financial Counsellor (Yellowknife, NWT)
Rules of Procedure for Nominations and Elections Nominations 1. In 2018, the Vice-President (6000 or more students), Directors from Regions 1 and 3, and one Director from Region 5 will be elected at the Annual Convention of the Association. 2. Every candidate for office shall be a trustee of a member board at the time of being nominated. 3. No person shall hold the same Executive position for more than two, complete consecutive terms. 4. The Nominating Committee will ensure that there is at least one qualified candidate who has consented to allow his/her name to stand for each position up for election. None of the Committee s nominees shall be a member of the Nominating Committee. 5. Further nominations may be made from the floor of the Annual Convention by a convention delegate with the consent of the nominee. 6. An individual trustee may submit his/her name to the Nominating Committee, in writing, with the support of an electorate of five (5). This will not apply to candidates nominated from the floor. 7. Nominations will be accepted by the Nominating Committee until the last call for nominations from the floor at the call to order of the Annual Convention. 8. If a candidate for President or Vice-President is not elected, he or she is deemed to have been nominated for any other position for which he/she is qualified, if that candidate so desires. Elections 9. Voting shall be by ballot. Voting for President shall be by board ballots, which will be distributed in such numbers as determined by Association by-laws to a trustee authorized by each board to receive those ballots. Voting for all other positions will be by individual trustee ballots, with the Vice-Presidents elected by trustees at large, and Directors elected by the trustees of each respective region. Every trustee of a member board is eligible to register as a voting delegate at a Convention and upon registration shall be given a ballot book. Only Convention delegates and members of the Executive present at the convention shall be entitled to vote at Convention, and no person or member shall vote by proxy. 10. Prior to the elections, the President shall appoint an Elections Committee, none of whom shall be voting delegates or staff, and in the event that a vote is required on any election, the Elections Committee shall collect and count the ballots and declare the name of the successful candidate for each office. 11. Where one officer is to be elected, a candidate, in order to be elected, must receive over 50% of the votes cast. If on the first or subsequent vote no candidate receives over 50% of the votes cast, the name of the candidate receiving the fewest votes shall be deleted and another vote taken. 12. Where two or more Directors are to be elected at one time, a candidate, in order to be elected, must receive over 50% of the ballots cast. In the event that more than one ballot is necessary, any successful candidate will be declared elected and the candidate receiving the fewest votes shall be dropped from the ballot; except where this would reduce the remaining candidates to one, in which case only the successful candidate shall be removed from the ballot. 13. Should a tie vote occur during an election which would have the effect of no change in the makeup of the next ballot, a second vote shall be taken, where possible. If the second vote again results in a tie, the successful candidates shall be determined by lot.. The final call for nominations for all Manitoba School Boards Association Executive positions will take place at 9:00 a.m. on Thursday, March 15. All elections will take place on Friday, March 16, in accordance with the Convention program.
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